Devices for aligning bound buttonhole tabs



July 24, 1956 S J KE R DEVICES FOR ALIGNING BOUND BUTTONHOLE TABS Filed Dec. 10, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l r JNVEN TORJ E5 Stanley J Kef/erar BY WITNESS ATTORNEY July 24, 1956 s. J. KETTERER 2,755,752

DEVICES FOR ALIGNING BOUND BUTTONHOLE TABS Filed Dec. 10, 1953 2 Sheets-$heet 2 WITNESS 35 43 32 ATTORNEY DEVICES FDR ALIGNING BOUND BUTTONHOLE TABS Stanley .1. Ketterer, Stratford, Conn, assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 10, 1953, Serial No. 397,323 6 Claims. (Cl. 11270) The present invention relates to the sewing of bound buttonholes and has for a primary object to provide means for readily positioning the end tabs thereof prior to tacking the same to the body portion of the base-material.

One method of making bound buttonholes is fully disclosed in applicants copending application Serial No. 397,536, filed December ll, 1953. In the method therein disclosed, the body portion of a base-material is provided with an elongated slit having Y-shaped ends. Folded piping strips are then placed on the front face of the base-mateiial with their fold edges arranged parall l to the slit and positioned outwardly, and they are tacked in this position by two lines of stitching, one through each of the piping strips; the stitching running parallel to the slit and being spaced outwardly of lines running between the extremities of the Y-shaped ends of the slit. Thereafter, the piping strips are forced through the opening or inverted to assume a position on the rear face of the base-material in which position the fold edges substantially abut along the original line of the slit with the piping strips lying fiat and extending outwardly in opposite directions from their fold edges. In this position, the base-material is folded under along lines running substantially between the extremities of the Y-shaped ends of the slit. The final operation, exclusive of stitching the buttonhole as thus produced to the facing material, is the stitching down of the end-tabs which lie between the legs of the \-shaped ends at the ends of the buttonhole, it is this operation to which the present invention relates.

It will be obvious that during the inverting operation, the end tabs are not always properly positioned so that they can be properly stitched to the piping strips. Accordingly, it is a specific object of the present invention to provide a device by means of which these end-tabs may e readily aligned in their proper position prior to tacking them to the piping strips.

it is a further object of the present invention to provide means for preventing overlapping of the folded edges of the piping strips and thereby insure that the same will be stitched to the end tabs in an abutting relationship and not overlapped.

Having in mind the above and other objects that will be evident from an understanding of this disclosure, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts as illustrated in the presently preferred embodiment of the invention which is hereinafter set forth in such detail as to enable those skilled in the art readily to understand the function, operation, construction and advantages of it when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevation view of a tacking machine provided with a tab-aligning device constructed in accordance with the present invention, and with the work in the machine shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the workclamp and bed of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1, with the needle shown in section.

2,755,152 Patented July 24, 1956 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end elevation view of the workclamp and bed of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1, with the work-clamp lifting lever shown partly in section.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the feed-plate, per se, of the machine illustrated in Fig. l, to which the tabaligning device of the present invention is secured.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are detail section views showing the present tab-aligning device in successive positions of use, with portions of the bed and clamp of the machine illustrated in section.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a bound buttonhole, partly broken away and with a section thereof removed to illustrate better the construction thereof, and the tabaligning device as it cooperates with the buttonhole.

Fig. 9 is a section view taken substantially on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the work after an end-tab has been stitched to the piping strips.

Although the present invention is herein illustrated and described as used in the making of a bound buttonhole, it will be obvious that the same is equally adapted for use in the making of any piped opening constructed in a similar manner.

With reference to the drawings, there is illustrated a tacking machine having a bed 1 and a head 2 overhanging the bed and being carried at the end of the bracket-arm portion of the usual standard (not shown) which rises from the end of the bed. Journaled in the head 2 for vertical reciprocation is a needle-bar 3 carrying at its lower end a needle 4 that is adapted to cooperate in the formation of stitches with a conventional loop-taker (not shown) located below the bed 1. As is customary in tacking machines, the needle is mounted only for vertical reciprocation and the work is fed relative thereto by a feeding-type of work-clamp, indicated generally at 5, which is moved through the desired feeding cycle, as by a suitable cam (not shown).

The work-clamp 5 comprises a feed-bar 6 to which is secured the feed-plate '7, as by a nut 8, threaded upon a stud 9 that is fixed to the feed-bar 6 and extends through an aperture 10 in the feed-plate 7. Lateral motion of the feed-plate 7 relative to the feed-bar 6 is prevented by means of short studs 11, see Fig. 2, extending upwardly from the feed-bar 6 and projecting into apertures 12 formed in the feed-plate 7. Also mounted on the feedbar 6 is a bracket 13 which is vertically slotted at its free end to slidably receive two clamp-carrying bars 14 and 15, and horizontally slotted to receive for vertical sliding movement lateral extensions 16 and 17 of the bars 14 and 15, respectively. The bars 14 and 15 are confined within the slots in the free end of the bracket 13 by a plate 18 secured to the bracket 13 by screws 19. The bars 14 and 15 are provided with lift-pins 20 and 21, respectively, which are adapted to be engaged and lifted by an arm 22 secured to the lower end of a lifter-bar 23. The lifter-bar 23 is mounted within the head 2 for vertical movement in any well-known manner and is adapted to be raised and lowered by any suitable mechanism (not shown). The bars 14 and 15 are resiliently biased downwardly by spring-rods 24 and 25, respectively, which, at one end, engage in recesses formed in the upper ends of the bars. At their lower ends, the bar 14 carries a clamp 26 and the bar 15 carries a clamp 27. As will be noted from the drawings, the lift-pin 21 is located vertically lower than the lift-pin 20, whereby the former, together with the bar 15 and clamp 27 will be contacted and thereby raised from the work by the arm 22 of the lifterbar 23 before the lift-pin 20 is contacted, and it will be lowered into engagement with the work after the lift-pin 20 is lowered.

Adjacent the point of stitch formation, the bed 1 is provided with a throat-plate 28 having a needle-aperture 29. The feed-plate 7 rests upon and slides relative to the throat-plate 23. The present machine is designed to produce a bar-tack and correspondingly, the feed-plate 7 is provided with an elongated aperture 30 that closely approximates the design of the tack and, as best seen in Fig. 2, the clamps 26 and 27 are formed complementary to each other to provide a similar elongated aperture, the clamp 26 providing one of the sides and both ends of the aperture and the clamp 27 providing the other side thereof.

The work with which the present invention is illustrated comprises a base-material 31 in which an elongated slit having Y-shaped ends has been made. Thus, there are formed the end-tabs 32 and side-tabs 33, see Fig. 2, which, when folded under, produce a substantially rectangular opening 34 in the base-material bounded by the fold edges of the tabs 32 and 33. Folded piping strips 35 are provided which, in the illustrated position, have been stitched to the base-material by parallel lines of stitching 36, herein illustrated as two-thread chain stitches, and have been inverted or forced through the opening 34. Thus, the piping strips 35 are in a flat condition with their fold-edges substantially abutting along the centerline of the opening 34 and the end-tabs 32 and side-tabs 33 are folded under to lie between the base-material and the piping strips. The next operation comprises stitching the end-tabs 32 to the piping strips 35 by lines of stitching running across the ends of the opening 34. T o accomplish this, a flap 37 of the base-material which lies to one end of the opening 34 is folded back to expose the ends of the piping strip and the respective end-tab 32, as illustrated in Fig. 2, after which a line of stitching 38 is passed through them adjacent the base of the tab. The work at the end of this operation is shown in Fig. 10.

It will be obvious that during the inverting operation, the end-tabs are only dragged along and thus are rarely positioned properly for the subsequent stitching operation. To readily align the tabs there is provided a device 39, hereinafter referred to as a plow, that is carried by the feed-plate 7 substantially centrally thereof and located away from the free end of the bed 1 with respect to the aperture 30. The plow 39 comprises a base-plate or flange 40 that is secured to the feed-plate 7, a vertical web or shank 41 rising from the base-plate, and a topplate or flange 42 secured to the upper portion of the web 41. As best seen in Fig. 9, the top-plate 42 is so dimensioned as to be wider than the distance between the folded edges of the opening 34 but not as wide as the distance between the lines of stitching 36, so that it may be inserted between the folded edges of the opening 34 and the piping strips as seen best in Fig. 9. The leading edge of the top-plate 42 is beveled to a point 43 and the top-plate is offset up the bed 1 with respect to the bottom-plate 40. The web 41, which is connected to the extremities of the top-plate 42 and bottom-plate 40 thus presents an inclined leading-edge 44 and trailingedge 45.

The operation of the plow 39 is hereinafter described with particular reference to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, in which views the one end-tab 32 to the left is shown as stitched to the piping strips 35, as by a previous operation. To perform the stitching operation which secures the other end-tab 32 to the piping strips, the flap 37 is folded back and, with the clamps 26 and 27 completely raised, the work is manually inserted beneath the clamps and moved up the bed or to the right as seen in these views beyond the point of stitch formation so that the tab to be aligned is moved beyond the point 43 of the plow 39. When in this position, the work is urged against the plow 39 and moved down the bed 1 or to the left as seen in Figs. 1-7. Aided by the point 43, the top-plate enters between the fold-edges of piping strips as the work is guided relative thereto into the position shown in Fig. 5. In this view the tab 32 is illustrated as turned under the end, which may be one of the improper positions that it could assume as a result of the inverting operation. Continued movement of the work to the left in Figs. 5-7 causes the endtab to contact the point 43 of the plow 39 and to be straightened by the same as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 9. It should be noted that the web 41 of the plow 39 also serves to space the edges of the piping strips and prevents their being stitched in a lapped condition. The work is then moved forward to the stitching point and the clamps 26 and 27 lowered, as seen in Fig. 7. It will be noted that the clamp 26 engages only the tab 32 and the piping strips 35 and urges them against the feed-plate 7 whereas the clamp 27 engages the flap 37 of the base-material adjacent the fold thereof and urges the whole of the underlying work against the feed-plate 7. When the aligning and the positioning of the work has been completed and the same is clamped against the feed-plate 7, as seen in Fig. 7, the tacking machine is actuated and it thereafter automatically produces its bar-tack and upon the completion thereof comes to rest.

In practice, the operation of sewing the piping strips to the base-material by the seams 36 has been done by a single-needle automatic tacking machine, either chainstitch or lock-stitch, which stitches through the one piping strip and then crosses over to stitch through the other piping strip in the reverse direction, although it could readily be performed by a two-needle machine that produces both lines of stitching simultaneously. When a single-needle two-thread chain-stitch machine has been used, it has been designed to cut the sewing threads at the end of each seam 36 and, thus, there would be no crossover threads from the first seam to the second. However, if the cutting mechanism fails to operate or if the machine is not designed to cut the sewing threads at the end of each seam, there would be crossover threads extending from the one line of stitching to the other which interferes with proper positioning of the end-tabs. Accordingly, the plow 39 is provided with a cutter 46 that comprises a recess formed in the inclined leading edge 44 of the web 41 immediately below the point 43 of the top-plate 42. The base of the recess is provided with a cutting edge. As seen in Fig. 6, a crossover thread 47 between the two lines of stitching 36 will be caught within and severed by the cutter 46.

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to a preferred embodiment of my invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim herein is:

l. A plow for aligning end-tabs of bound buttonholes or the like comprising a base, a web connected to said base and arranged substantially normal thereto, and a top plate surmounting said web and arranged substantially normal thereto, said top-plate being reduced at one end to define a leading-edge, said web extending to substantially the leading-edge of said top-plate, and said top-plate being offset longitudinally of said web with respect to the connection between said base and said web whereby the edge of said web adjacent the leading-edge of said top-plate will be inclined with respect to said top-plate.

2. A plow for aligning end-tabs of bound buttonholes or the like comprising a base. a web connected to said base and arranged substantially normal thereto, and a topplate surmounting said web and arranged substantially normal thereto, said top-plate being reduced at one end to define a leading-edge, said web extending to substantially the leading-edge of said top-plate, and a cutting-edge formed on the edge of said web adjacent the leading-edge of said top-plate, said top-plate being oifset longitudinally of said web with respect to the connection between said base and said web whereby the edge of said web adjacent the leading-edge of said top-plate will be inclined with respect to said top-plate.

3. A device for use in the manufacture of bound buttonholes and the like in a base-material having a substantially rectangular opening therein, the opening beingv formed by an elongated slit having Y-shaped ends and being bounded by the under-folded edges of the side-tabs and end-tabs thereby cut into the base-material, and folded piping strips arranged on the side of the base-material to which said tabs have been folded with the foldedges thereof substantially abutting along the longitudinal centerline of the opening and being stitched to the sidetabs along lines on each side of the opening, spaced from but parallel to the side-edges of the opening, said device consisting of means for ali ning the end-tabs in under folded condition between the base-material and the piping-strips, said means comprising a plow having a web, a planar top-plate surmounting said web and arranged substantially normal thereto, said top-plate being wider than the opening but narrower than the distance between th; two lines of stitches, the width of said top-plate reduced at one end to define a leading-edge, said web being adapted to pass between the abutting fold-edges of the piping strips and the opposite edges of the top-plate being adapted to pass between the fold-edges of the piping strips and th: base-material adjacent the under-folded tabs to contact and thus to straighten an end-tab against the adjacent surface of the base-material.

4. In a sewing machine for stitching the end-tabs of bound buttonholes or the like to the adjacent piping strips by means of an automatically produced tack, stitching instrumentalities defining a point of stitch formation, a feedclamp for feeding work relative to the point of stitch formation, means for actuating said feed-clamp through a feeding cycle upon operation of the machine, said feedclamp comprising a feedplate having an aperture therein at the point of stitch formation generally conforming in outline to the shape of the tack produced and clamp means for urging the work against said feed-plate having a corresponding aperture therein, and a plow carried by said feed-plate for aligning the end-tabs, said plow comprising a web arranged susbtantially normal to the feed-plate, and a top-plate surmounting said web and arranged substantially normal thereto, the width of said top-plate being reduced at the end remote from said aperture to define a leading edge.

5. In a sewing machine for stitching the end-tabs of bound buttonholes or the like to the adjacent piping strips by means of an automatically produced tack, stitching instrumentalities defining a point of stitch formation, a 5

feed-clamp for feeding work relative to the point of stitch formation, means for actuating said feed-clamp through a feeding cycle upon operation of the machine, said feedclamp comprising a feed-plate having an aperture therein at the point of stitch formation generally conforming in outline to the shape of the tack produced and a pair of clamps opposed to said feed-plate and a corresponding aperture formed therein, said clamps being relatively movable and being sequentially actuated upon relative movement thereof toward and from said feed-plate, and a plow carried by said feed-plate for aligning the end-tabs, said plow comprising a web arranged substantially normal to the feed-plate, and a top-plate surmounting said web and arranged susbtantially normal thereto, the width of said top-plate being reduced at the end remote from said aperture to define a leading edge.

6. A tacking machine for use in the manufacture of bound buttonholes and the like in a base-material having a substantially rectangular opening therein, the opening being formed by an elongated slit having Y-shaped ends and being bounded by the underfolded edges of the sidetabs and end-tabs thereby cut into the base-material, and folded piping strips arranged on the side of the base-material to which said tabs have been folded with the foldedges thereof substantially abutting along the longitudinal centerline of the opening and being stitched to the sidetabs along lines on each side of the opening, spaced from but parallel to the side-edges of the opening, said tacking machine being designed to stitch the end-tabs to the piping strips and comprising stitching instrumentalities defining a point of stitch formation, feed-clamp for feeding working relative to the point of stitch formation, means for actuating the feed-clamp through a feeding cycle upon operation of the machine, said feed-clamp comprising a feed-plate having an aperture therein at the point of stitch formation generally conforming in outline to the shape of the tack produced and a pair of clamp elements opposed to said feed-plate and having a corresponding aperture formed therein, said clamp elements being relatively movable and being sequentially actuated upon relative movement thereof toward and from said feed-plate, and a plow carried by said feed-plate for aligning the end-tabs, said plow comprising a web arranged substantially normal to the feed-plate, and a top-plate surmounting said web and arranged substantially normal thereto, the width of said top-plate being reduced at the end remote from said aperture to define a leading edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 480,260 Greene Aug. 9, 1892 867,263 Eschelbacher Oct. 1, 1907 1,451,220 Heap Apr. 10, 1923 

